National Football League News and Rumors

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher had little to say about the condition of Danny Amendola, calling it a "competitive issue" after the receiver was injured during Thursday night's win over Arizona.

Kicker Jay Feely fined for unnecessary roughness

In a rare instance of the NFL cracking down on an illegal hit from a kicker, Arizona’s Jay Feely has been fined for a personal foul. Feely, who was called for unnecessary roughness when he hit an opponent late on the second half kickoff of the Cardinals

After Sunday’s Titans-Texans game, several Houston players complained that Tennessee guard David Stewart was playing dirty. Looking over the tape, the league office found one play on which it agreed. The NFL has confirmed that Stewart was fined $7,875 f

Eagles quarterback Mike Vick has spoken in the past about his desire to once again own a dog. Apparently, he now does. Either that or someone in his house has developed a taste for dog food. Courtesy of the folks at CrossingBroad.com, Vick tweeted a ph…

Earlier this week, Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes was asked about his aggressive nature on the field. “Absolutely. A lot of guys, they know the new rules. I don’t think I’ve done anything illegal,” Spikes said, via the Patriots website. “I”

We cover all of the biggest injury stories throughout the day on Friday, but feel free to use this as a one-stop shop to catch up on those posts and any other names worth mentioning that we’ll throw in here every Friday. Falcons at Redskins Redskins wid

Coming off their bye week, the Pittsburgh Steelers are a much healthier team heading into Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Running back Rashard Mendenhall (knee), outside linebacker James Harrison (knee) and safety Troy Polamalu (calf) are…

Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams wasn’t expected to play any time soon, and the NFL has now confirmed that Williams will be on the shelf a little longer. Williams, who was already in the middle of a six-game suspension for allegedly cheating on a drug t

McCarthy says call to ref was 'right thing'

Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Friday that he called the replacement referee who made the call on a final play that cost the Packers a game against the Seattle Seahawks to offer his support.

Now that his long-running spat with Eagles running back LeSean McCoy has come to a end, Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora has an opening in his schedule for a pointless verbal feud with an opposing running back. He may be trying to fill it with Browns …

‘Fire Pioli, Bench Cassel’ banner to fly over Arrowhead on Sunday

The Kansas City Chiefs are owners of a 1-3 record, and all three of their losses have come by 13 points or more. Quarterback Matt Cassel has the 29th-best passer rating among starting quarterbacks in the NFL. So the 2012 Chiefs season is not off to a gr…

It’s Friday, which means it is time for an all-out blitz on Week Five. Joining Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports Network to set the stage will be Chargers tight end Antonio Gates and Redskins coach Mike Shanahan. Gates and the Chargers will be trying to a

Simplifying things paying dividends for Vikings D

Sometimes when you have an edge in talent, you just have to let those players play. That’s why a pair of Vikings defensive linemen went to coaches, asking them to simplify things after a Week Two loss at Indianapolis. Defensive tackle Kevin Williams and

On Friday morning, we shared a report that Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was a “virtual certainty” to miss Sunday’s game against the Broncos. The Patriots haven’t ruled him out yet, though. Hernandez was back on the practice field Friday and

Chad Greenway fined $21,000 for hit on Calvin Johnson

Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway delivered a brutal helmet-to-helmet hit to Lions receiver Calvin Johnson on Sunday, and he’s paying for it. Greenway has been fined $21,000, the NFL confirmed. After the game Greenway acknowledged that he was in the wron

And, as if on cue, Kenny Britt has found another way to miss time. The Titans wide receiver tweaked his ankle in practice Thursday and didn’t work Friday. He’s listed as questionable on the injury report, but Jim Wyatt of the Tennesseean said he’s

A day after the Rams pushed over the .500 mark for the first time since 2006 and everyone was feeling good, they had a scare. According to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, executive vice president Kevin Demoff fainted while in GM Les Snead’s o

When the Dolphins cut Chad Johnson during training camp, Sunday’s visit from Miami to Cincinnati instantly lost a lot of its luster. Still, the Bengals managed to sell out the non-premium tickets, thanks to a 24-hours extension of the deadline for doing

Ex-Chief Larry Johnson arrested for domestic violence

Larry Johnson, a former All-Pro running back with the Kansas City Chiefs who quickly rose to stardom and then just as quickly saw his fortunes fall both on and off the field, is in trouble with the law again. Johnson was arrested today for battery/domes…

In other fake news, Michael Vick breaks both his legs

Bad news, Eagles fans: According to a report from Global Associated News, Michael Vick has broken both legs in a Philadelphia car accident! The accident involved Vick and a 76-year-old female driver, and further details will be forthcoming. In an eerie …

If the Saints are going to get their first win of the season Sunday night against the Chargers, they’re going to have to do it without one of their main receiving threats. Wide receiver Lance Moore has already been ruled out with a hamstring strain, a

Final bounty appeal ruling puts league in potentially delicate spot

As Commissioner Roger Goodell prepares to re-issue discipline against four players whose suspensions were vacated last month, the good news is that Goodell finally has gotten more clarity as to what he can and can’t do. The bad news is that Goodell fina

Four weeks into the 2012 NFL regular season, an unlikely name appears at the top of the "Receiving Yards" leader board. Miami Dolphins wide receiver Brian Hartline, who had 549 receiving yards as a 16-game starter in 2011, leads the NFL enteri…

You always prefer to see a player show up on the injury report early in the week and then progressively get better as the next game approaches. When someone pops up later in the week, it’s troubling because there’s so little time left for the injury t

Injury-plagued Giants will have depth tested

After coaching Darren Sproles for four years in San Diego, Norv Turner will coach against him for the first time on Sunday night when the Chargers play the Saints. And Turner says preparing for Sproles is among the most important parts of the Chargers’

Earlier this week, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said that he expected to have James Harrison, Rashard Mendenhall and Troy Polamalu in the lineup when the Steelers face the Eagles on Sunday. Everything appears to be on track as far as making that expectati…

Jets get physical in practice in hopes of not being run over

The Jets offense looked like it hadn’t practiced together at all last week, so they decided to go back to training camp mode in practice this week. To bounce back from last week’s embarrassment, coach Rex Ryan asked for suggestions, and offensive line

As the Colts prepare to attempt to match their 2011 win total with a game against the team that won 15 regular-season games last season, their interim head coach has a message for all fans of the team. “We cannot allow the Cheeseheads to come in here an

Steelers veteran defense could be headed for last roundup

The Steelers expect safety Troy Polamalu and linebacker James Harrison to get back on the field this weekend, and back to fixing a defense that has missed them in recent weeks. But how much longer they’re going to be able to keep the core of players whi

The number 88 means something in Dallas. Drew Pearson, who's in the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor, wore the 88, as did Hall of Famer Michael Irvin. These days, no one gets the 88 unless the Cowboys think they're going to be something special. That is ind…

Lions special teams coach wants to go back to shadows

Danny Crossman’s kids keep looking for him on television. He’d prefer they not see him as much. The Lions special teams coach knows him doing interviews or showing up on the broadcast is bad news, considering the way his group’s played. “Love anon

The Saints are going to have three familiar faces watching them face the Chargers on Sunday night. Will the presence of Sean Payton, Mickey Loomis and Joe Vitt be enough to help the Saints get their first win of the season? We’ll be talking about that o

It would seem to be a good sign for the Colts defense that linebacker Dwight Freeney has been able to practice fully on both Wednesday and Thursday after missing the team’s last two games with a high ankle sprain. Coming off a bye week with plenty of re

The Jaguars haven’t officially announced wide receiver Laurent Robinson’s status for Sunday’s game against the Bears, but they sent a pretty good signal that he won’t be on the field after suffering his second concussion in as many weeks. The team

Donald Driver: As long as we’re winning, I’m OK with my role

Packers receiver Donald Driver has been progressively getting phased out of the offense over the last few years, and this year he’s hardly a part of the offense at all: He has just two catches through four games. But Driver is OK with that. “I’m fin

History doesn’t favor Eagles on Sunday

When justifying my prediction that the Steelers will beat the Eagles on Sunday at Heinz Field, I opted for the visceral. Based on living most of my life within 100 miles of Pittsburgh, this simply isn’t a game the Steelers lose. Reuben Frank of CSNPhill

In last 2 years, only Tebow won while completing less than Bradford

The Rams won on Thursday night while Sam Bradford completed only seven passes. How common is that? Well, let’s put it this way: The only other time it happened in the last two seasons was during Tebowmania in Denver. The last time an NFL team won a game

Slauson on Tebow: “That option is not an option”

With all the talk about when/if the Jets will switch from quarterback Mark Sanchez to quarterback Tim Tebow, a fairly important constituency has been overlooked. The other players on the team. One of them, guard Matt Slauson, says that the idea of a cha…

Hey, relax Browns coaches and administrators, you’re not all fired. At least not until the end of the year, anyway. New Cleveland owner Jimmy Haslam has said he’ll wait until after the season to consider any staff changes, according to Mary Kay Cabot

Saints frustrated by lack of pass rush

While the Saints’ offense doesn’t seem to have the same sizzle that is displayed last year, the more glaring problem is the defense. The switch from Gregg Williams to Steve Spagnuolo coupled with personnel deficiencies that have become more and more t

The Cardinals offense had a rough night in St. Louis on Thursday. Among the wreckage of the evening was running back Ryan Williams, who left the game with what the team termed a left shoulder injury. Williams got rocked by a fourth quarter hit from Rams…

Archie Manning: Peyton, Brady will enjoy rivalry more later

Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have downplayed the significance of their personal rivalry this week, saying it’s more about the Broncos and the Patriots. But Archie Manning said he wished he’d have been able to have had something similar in his day, and

Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum described conversations between himself, coach Rex Ryan and owner Woody Johnson as “robust,” but denied that the boss was leaning on them to start Tim Tebow. “There isn’t,” Tannenbaum said, via Conor Orr of t

Correction week has begun in the NFL, to the chagrin of MDS. The previously undefeated Cardinals have fallen to the Rams to launch Week Five, but star receiver Larry Fitzgerald sees the glass as 80-percent full. “We’re still 4-1,” Fitzgerald said af

Older, wiser Tom Coughlin: “Losing, it kills you”

It’s tempting, especially after watching his A Football Life documentary, to think Giants coach Tom Coughlin is mellowing with age, gaining perspective a younger man wouldn’t have. Nope. “It’s 10 times more difficult,” Coughlin said in an interv

Colts coach Chuck Pagano has a treatable form of leukemia. His brother, John, who serves as Chargers defensive coordinator, said Thursday that, so far, Chuck is doing well. “It’s been tough for my brother with what he’s going through,” Pagano sa

Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb was sacked nine times - nine times - during Thursday night’s loss to the Rams, and it’s no surprise that he wasn’t in a good mood afterward. Kolb noted that the Cardinals had several good opportunities to score,